In the Headlines
November 16, 2018

Fla. High Court Gets 'Like' From Attys On Facebook Decision

Law360

Partner Trisha Rich commented on the Florida Supreme Court's ruling on Nov. 15 that concluded the mere existence of a Facebook friendship between a judge and litigator is not grounds for disqualification. Many attorneys applauded this decision as friendships on social media platforms do not mean that the individuals have a personal relationship in the real world. Ms. Rich noted that individuals can receive and accept friend requests from strangers without ever meeting them or having a relationship in person, so to disqualify a judge for a social media friendship was unfounded. Ms. Rich discussed that if an individual cannot have an online relationship with another attorney once they became a judge, then all real-world relationships would have to end as well to be consistent with the ruling.

“It would be adding a prohibition to online networking 'friendships' that doesn't exist for real life friendships,” Ms. Rich said.

READ: Fla. High Court Gets 'Like' From Attys On Facebook Decision

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